FUOYE’s unending crisis

The crisis between the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) and the workers has taken a new turn. The school is accussing Ekiti State Governor Ayo Fayose of fuelling the strike. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA examines the scenario.

The crisis at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) is not over yet. Last week, a new twist was added to the workers-management face-off when the Vice Chancellor, Prof Kayode Soremekun, alleged that the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, was fuelling the crisis by instigating the workers against the management.

As at the time of this report, the gates of the institution have been shut by workers, who are demanding sundry allowances and colleagues’ promotion.

The twist was added to the crisis on Wednesday, last week, when the union leaders allegedly unleashed terror on memebres of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), who were not part of the industrial action. The aggrieved workers allegedly dragged and beat some lecturers for their failure to join the strike. They were also alleged to have hung fetish objects at the main gate of the university, supposedly to scare visitors away.

According to the management, the development forced it to contact the police, who arrested the chairmen of the three unions – Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) – Mutiu Ademola, Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) – Dada Adebayo, and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) – Ekundayo Ajibaye – for disrupting the peace.

Briefing newsmen last weekend, Soremekun claimed that the crisis in the university was being fuelled, sponsored and instigated by Fayose. He alleged that the governor used the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Modupe Alade, as a front to secure the release of the union leaders.

“The unionists were becoming so unruly in recent time. In fact, they beat up some lecturers and we called for their arrest only for the SSG to bail them out, acting on the governor’s directive,” Soremekun told reporters. Nonetheless, Governor Fayose denied it all.

Speaking on his behalf, his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, said as the chief security officer of the state, Fayose’s priority was to protect the entire state and not dabble into irrelevances.

The union leaders have also shot back at Soremekun, saying their release was secured by their national leaders.

The crisis started in January when workers protested over non-payment of about three months salary arrears and Hazard Allowances. Workers also alleged Soremekun of carrying out questionable employment in contravention of the federal character. They accused the VC of engaging on frequent trips abroad, despite the school’s financial constraint.

But Soremekun, who denied the allegations, said he sits on boards of many foundations and global bodies across the world, which usually facilitate his trips abroad whenever the need arises.

The unions claimed that the recent promotion carried out in May was marred by favoritism and irregularities. Workers also kicked against an average score of 85 per cent pass mark set by management as against the 60 per cent entrenched in the Condition of Service for senior staff in the university. They alleged that certain workers, who scored below 85 per cent were promoted, leaving many others, who equally deserved promotion on merit.

The two parties eventually went for negotiation in February, brokered by the Ekiti State Office of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity. They both agreed that all arrears would be paid within five days of suspending the strike, The Nation learnt.

Explaining the rationale for last week’s crisis, workers claimed that the VC refused to sign the said agreement, adding that this fuelled their fears that the management was not ready to honour the pact.

During the briefing, FUOYE management further accused Fayose of sponsoring the union leaders to launch physical attacks on lecturers and other workers in the Registry.

Soremekun said the unions’ actions almost resulted into anarchy as students wanted to launch a counter-attack, but the management promptly waded in.

The VC said the union leaders invaded the Bursary Unit, ejected workers forcefully, and deflated tyres of vehicles parked. He lamented that the incident coincided with the meeting of the university’s Governing Council, which had to relocate to Ado-Akiti to conclude its agenda because of the chaotic atmosphere.

He listed some of those wounded by the unionists to include: the Dean of Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Babatope Alabadan; Dr Ayodele A Fajinmi and Dr Olatunde Oyelawon of the Department of Crop Science and Mechanical Engineering respectively.

Others were: Messrs. Tunde Ogundana and Olawale Sanni both of Department of Mechanical Engineering; Head of Department of Physics, Dr Olusayo Olubosede and Dr Kikelomo Oluwalola, an adjunct staff member. Another victim, Mr. GabrielOkoli of the Department of Computer Engineering got his car vandalised during the attack, management added.

According to Soremekun, the Registrar, Mr. Daniel Adeyemo was almost manhandled by the unionists.

Ahead of last week’s attack, Soremekun recalled that the union leaders were given queries, which they refused to answer, adding that they also shunned a panel set up to investigate their activities.

The VC accused Fayose of exerting pressure on him while he served as the Chief Returning Officer (CRO) for the Edo State governorship election by sending one of his (Fayose) aides to him.

He claimed that Fayose had allegedly been after his life after serving as the CRO in the election last September, which saw Governor Godwin Obaseki of the All Progressives Congress defeating the Peoples Democratic Party’s candidate, Osagie Ize-Iyamu.

Soremekun said: “I am not a politician and I didn’t expect the governor to be sponsoring violence against me. Before the Ondo State governorship election, it was rumoured that I would be the Chief Returning Officer and before I could blink an eye, Fayose released my phone to the world where all sorts of messages were being sent to me.

He continued: “Although I occupy a political position, but I am not a politician; the next election held was that of Ondo State and they thought I was going to be the Chief Returning Officer only to be sending horrible text messages to me.

“As I speak with you now, my life and those of the Registrar and other management members are not safe. It is as bad as that.This fight is meant to save the soul of our university against partisanship. It is a fight against principalities and power of darkness in high places, working to politicise and destabilise our university.”

Soremekun denied employing over 300 workers. He explained that few numbers of staff were employed to fill some vacancies and in deference to the principle of federal character.

Fayose challenged Soremekun for having the gut to order the arrest of the protesters.

“The Vice Chancellor is the one that should search his conscience whether or not he is doing the right thing concerning the management of the university,” Fayose said.

“Be that as it may, it sounds so illogical that head of a university will stand before the press to say that university staff should be arrested and detained by the police for protesting,”the governor added.

The union leaders, however, described Soremekun’s allegation as an attempt to gain the sympathy of the federal authorities and the public.

Ajibaye said the unions were primarily concerned about the welfare of their colleagues and payment of their benefits and promotion of those who deserve it.

Ajibaye said: “There is no truth in the allegation by the VC that the governor is sponsoring unions in FUOYE. The allegation should be disregarded by the entire public and the authorities.

“The VC is only trying to deceive the public and the authorities in Abuja to cover his inefficiency. This VC in January stopped the payment of occupational Hazard Allowance to academic technologists in the university.

“This is an allowance that is component of monthly salary paid by the Federal Government and has been appropriated in the university’s budget. This allowance has been part of the staff salary for four years now in the university.

“This is a VC who, in the space of one year, has employed over 320 illegally without proper approval. In a bid to cover up this crime, the management recently did a kangaroo regularisation of appointments and forwarded few names to the Federal Character Commission as if due process were followed.”

Ajibaye claimed that the national representatives of the unions that visited FUOYE management to seek a truce left in frustration because the VC was not cooperative.

Ademola also denied the union’s involvement in the attacks on lecturers last week. He said workers’ grouse was further fuelled by the VC’s refusal to sign the aforementioned tripartite agreement.

Agreeing with Ademola, Adebayo said the union was left with no choice than to picket the Bursary Unit, adding that though the agreement stated that workers’ arrears and salaries must be paid within five days of suspending the strike, NASU was disappointed that the management failed to fulfill its part of the bargain 17 days after the unions suspended the strike.

He said the union found that the management intentionally delayed the payment to punish workers for their participation in the strike earlier in the year.

Adebayo said: “The general public is hereby informed that the bail of the union leaders illegally arrested was not secured by the SSG, but by representatives of the national bodies of SSANU, NAAT and NASU. The letter written and signed by the representatives is at the police headquarters for the world to see.”

The university’s Students’ Representative Council (SRC) the equivalent of Student Union Government (SUG), appealed to all parties to sheathe their swords in the interest of peace.

“We want the crisis to be resolved, all parties in the crisis should come to the negotiation table in the interest of all students, who want to graduate at the right time.

“Unions came to classes last Wednesday and stopped lectures, we are not happy that academic activities are now at a standstill. The earlier the crisis is resolved the better for everybody,” said the Deputy Speaker of FUOYE SRC, Miss Monjolaoluwa Bamiteko.

Ekiti State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, told The Nation that the union members were invited for clarification and were allowed to go after issues were sorted out.

Adeyemi explained that the union leaders were not detained at the command’s headquarters.

“We invited them (union leaders) for clarification and they made their statements and left. That is all I can say for now,” Adeyemi said:

Federal University, Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) was one of the nine universities established by the Federal Government in 2011 under former President Goodluck Jonathan. The purpose of their establishment was to make their host states have more Federal presence, while also generating employment opportunities.

Unfortunately, FUOYE appears to have been more crisis-ridden since inception, owing to frequent showdown between management and the unions.

Only three Vice Chancellors had presided over FUOYE since the institution was established. Its pioneer VC Prof Chinedu Nebo, left to take up an appointment as Minister of Power under the immediate past administration. However, Nebo’s successor Prof Innocent Asuzu, whose stay at FUOYE was brief, had a running battle with all the unions. Except ASUU, Soremekun’s administration has also been wriggling in crisis by three other unions, leading to strikes and forceful closure of the university.

Please, let peace reign in FUOYE, all the concerns should do the needful.

dave jacob

“But Soremekun, who denied the allegations, said he sits on boards of many foundations and global bodies across the world, which usually facilitate his trips abroad whenever the need arises.” With this statement that has been allegedly made by the VC, there cannot be peace in the university. How can a VC be so much involved in travels, most of which are private, without compromising the financial life of the institution, and particularly its peace due to his ubiquitous absence. Soremekun is not a VC but a constant traveller for selfish ends. If he is not fired with this admittance of him always travelling out of the country while abandoning greedily the university he should be protecting, this gvt is then not serious about sanctity in our higher institutions.